House of Dragon Season 2: Aegon Actor Was Keen to Investigate New King’s Vulnerable Side

House of the Dragon returns for its second season on June 16th, and the action will pick up with the factions of the Targaryens that were established at the conclusion of the first season. The Blacks are being led by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, the eldest child of the late King Viserys. Then there are the Greens, who are largely depicted as the villains in the scenario, led by Rhaenyra’s younger half-brother, King Aegon II.

While Aegon plays the part of the villain well, the actor behind the character thinks there’s a lot more to him than meets the eye. Tom Glynn-Carney spoke to ComicBook.com ahead of House of the Dragon‘s second season premiere and opened up about the more vulnerable side of Aegon that not everyone notices.

“I was keen to investigate his vulnerable side and really dive into his fragilities and his sort of boyishness,” Glynn-Carney said. “People often make the comment that Aegon is a villain or a psychopath and all that sort of stuff and I can see why they might say that. But I see it as more of a tragedy. He’s a very, very sad story and I’ve fallen completely in love with him and just want to hug him and make him feel better. So yeah, I’ve been really wanting to investigate that side of things rather than the villainous side, that cold, calculated, sadistic side. All that stuff comes naturally.”

To Glynn-Carney’s point, Aegon is very young, and he was thrust into this blood feud long before he had any control in the matter. That certainly doesn’t absolve him of his sins, but it did create a complex man beneath the crown.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In season two of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 PM ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.